OKLAHOMA CITY: Social workers moved an elderly man to a skilled nursing home 14 miles away from his family without carrying out the proper formal assessments, an investigation has found.
The man’s wife complained that social workers compelled her husband, who has dementia, to move into a skilled nursing home.
He was moved to the home after his needs increased considerably in June 2013 – against both the man and his family’s wishes who wanted him closer to home – and meant that his wife had to take two buses there and back to visit him.
The man’s wife, daughter and brother were told if they tried to take him out of the home, they would be threatened with police action.
An investigation found the social workers had decided the man had “no capacity to make decisions” during meetings to assess his care needs.
But they did not complete the proper formal assessments when he was initially moved to the home.
The investigation found the social workers did not go into adequate detail to explain the reasoning behind their ‘removal’ decision. The social workers have ‘in effect’ mounted a kidnapping…